Our tour ended Tuesday in snowy Chicago. We played WGN studios, home of Bozo the clown. In his old studio, there were still pieces of the set. Dawn snapped pics of us, pointing out that Bozo seemed to be giving a gang sign in both paintings. Having always wanted to be in Bozo's club, I assumed the position.

Then we played an afternoon news show for WGN. Before we played, a guy named Ralph played with his children's band. Come to find out, this is the same Ralph who stole Opus Ditty's "Folsom Preschool Blues" remake idea for his own version of "Folsom Daycare Blues". I didn't know this at the time of our meeting and proudly showed off the new Opus Ditty album which Kevin had given to me before I left New York. Good thing I didn't have an extra copy to give away or 'ol Ralphy would probably be sitting home this weekend trying to cop all the great music from Let's Go Fishing.

Check our our WGN segment here.

Dawn's "Young Girl" video premiered today. Sassy. For the line dancing I nudged myself to the third row so Pascal and Hunter had more room to swing. And because I sucked.



Dawn Landes and The Hounds start our tour NEXT WEEK!!!

January 19-Cambridge, MA-Club Passim
January 21-Fairfield, CT-StageOne*
January 22-New York, NY-Mercury Lounge (presented by Brooklyn Vegan)
January 23-Arlington, VA-Iota Club and Cafe
January 25-Louisville, KY-Zanzabar
January 26-Indianapolis, IN-Radio Radio*
January 27-Nashville, TN-Mercy Lounge*
January 28-Knoxville, TN-Barley’s Taproom*
January 29-Asheville, NC-The Grey Eagle*
January 30-Carrboro, NC-The Arts Center*
January 31-Atlanta, GA-Eddies Attic*
February 1-Mobile, AL-Callahan’s*
February 3-San Antonio, TX-Sam’s Burger Joint*
February 4-Austin, TX-Stubb’s*
February 5-Houston, TX-McGonigel’s Mucky Duck*
February 6-Dallas, TX-Granada Theatre**
February 9-Chicago, IL-Beat Kitchen

*Supporting Justin Townes Earle
**Supporting Justin Townes Earle and Chris Knight

Here's a new web missive featuring Ray Rizzo. He is one of two Ray Rizzos I have found within 100mi. (That's not him pictured - he shows up after the pit bull.) This Ray is a Crip and raps and lives in Newark. The other Ray is a poet and musician who travels in new age/yoga type circles. I want to have a Ray Rizzo show where we all jam. (Okay, I'm more interested in playing with this Ray). I think we could unleash some universal Mayan-scale what-have-you into the earth's atmosphere. But I'd have to ask that we agree to either check firearms at the door or have a firing range set up somewhere at the venue. Is that lame? I just can't do my Fred Sanford moves with guns on the dance floor.

I got home last night at almost 3 a.m., feeling pretty beat up. The Corporal record is ready to mix. 9 days of work over a year and a half. Traci woke up and we had burnt cookies and rye in bed. No matter how bad I was feeling, I did not stray from the satisfying pull of absolute gravity. Beneath any bruises and overworked nerves, there is the satisfaction of knowing.

Further on down the road...

We spent last night in Bigos where Jorge, Josh and I ate traditional country cooking and talked about our favorite concerts ever. Josh saw a big Bob Dylan anniversary concert at Madison Sqaure Garden in the early 90s where everyone in rock music played Dylan songs and then Dylan himself came out, only it was after the house lights had come up and people were starting to leave. But Bob didn't care and played 4 songs including "Song For Woody" (which I thought was a poem and did not know was a song.) Then I gave context and personal anecdotes for a powerful account of seeing Prince on the Lovesexy Tour in Cincinnatti. In the middle of my telling, Josh bit his tongue so bad he thought he might have swallowed some of it with his pork. But he didn't flinch once. I must have been mezmerizing!

Tonight we play a Women's Festival in Ourense. There's a story to tell later about this but for now I will recount the time just after 4pm when we were pulled over by police on the highway. They said they had a picture of our van traveling at 145km and the limit for vehicles like ours is 100km. The police told us to wait because they had to leave for an emergency. When they left they took the van's registration and Jorge's license with them. While we waited Dawn read to us stories from Dean Wareham's rock biography. The police came back in 15 minutes with a ticket for Jorge: 300Euros and a loss of 3 points on his license. Jorge had extra points added last year because he's never had a violation before. And the fine, which is a lot, isn't as bad as he expected.

"I'll still be able to pay my rent," he said, forcing a smile. Then when we got to Oursense, Jorge took us out for a glass of local white wine that was so crisp, I am still puckering. As he paid the old man behind the counter, he said, "Today I have near disaster, and the only thing to do is greet it with enjoyment." Salut, Jorge!

"Wow you're getting stripped in many ways on this tour," Dawn said. I had just learned that the bag with all my clothes was not found at the hotel in Madrid. "How does it feel not to carry around a big bag," she asked.

My back answered first, followed by my brain, and both were in total agreement.

"It feels great," I said.

On the way to Castellon I had spent some of my perdiem on toothbrushes and deodorant. This was when I knew I had no toiletries (left 'em in Birmingham), but had not yet learned that my bag was not in the van. Now the toothbrushes (a 2 brush value pack!) and the deodorant were all I had.

"That's kind of all you need," said Dawn. She knows a thing or two about living out of bags. Her blue ASCAP shoulder bag has been her most reliable band member, making more tours and carrying more stuff than anybody. In the early days, Dawn's blue bag would house her guitar pedals, her toothbrush, and all of her clothes.

There's a book by Maya Angelou that we used to keep in our bathroom called "Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now." I love that title and thought of it on my last night in Bushwick when Traci and I were packing my bag. It had been years since I packed so specific and thoroughly, meditating on the need, mood, and weight of each piece of clothing. I was excited for every stitch. I have not been sad to see them go. Whoever possesses them next will enjoy themselves.

Besides, before we left Barcelona, our new friend Maria brought by some old shirts for me that belonged to her roommate. One of them (seen in the above picture along with Dawn's blue bag) says "Granada" and has a drawing of the Alhambra. That it is a little small in no way diminishes the warm reminder that I am, at all times, provided for.

When we arrived in Madrid on Saturday Jorge was there to greet us. (He's the one on the left greeting Josh.) We met Jorge last September when we toured with Elvis Perkins in Dearland. Jorge was driving EPnDL around Spain and playing bass with them on a song called "Stop, Drop, Rock and Roll." At the time Simon (our UK tour manager of late) pointed out that next time we came to Spain, we should call Jorge and not waste Simon's time with our pithy Spanish excursions. (Kidding, Simon! Ahhhh! Get fucked! HAh! )

Okay but seriously, Simon's advice was taken and we have been looking forward to seeing Jorge this week. Jorge's been looking forward to seeing us, too. And he says he's glad for the work. Ain't we all.

Jorge made music to a film he made of his girlfriend underwater. He's made others filmsongs, too, and he has a show coming up. (He's passing out cards about it but I don't have one yet so I can't tell you more.) Jorge can play many instruments and will sit in with us this week on Kids In A Play and maybe anything else we can rope him into. He is a gentleman and a good driver. And Bonus: Jorge knows how to ask for toast and coffee with milk in Spanish. He's good at ordering lots of food and drink, actually.

D L and the Hounds are loving every meal in Espania. Dawn says Spain is giving France a run for it's money food-wise. Today Jesus and Coche treated us to a great lunch in Madrid. Tonight the promoter in Castellon took us out for another amazing meal. In each city, warm hands wagged forks across the table for little bites of joy. Both meals ended with yellow Herbal Liquor I can't spell properly, especially after drinking it.

Which makes for a funny segue to another event of the day.

My bag with all my clothing was left in Madrid. When we had come back from lunch to collect our bags and leave, the hotel attendant had given me cause to think it had already been taken from the storage room and put in the van by one of my party. Argh. I should have double checked.

When I told this to Jorge he smiled and said, "Okay, so I'm going to watch you." Yes, Jorge. Watch me so I don't leave anything else behind. I might start losing track of band members or what's left of my sanity. Keep singing "Where Is My Mind" to me Jorge. I'll keep smiling. Watch me and please help me get toast and coffee. I need help, Jorge. And I'm not too proud to admit it.

(sigh)

The only shirt I have right now is the one on my back from last night. It still says, "Very Modern, Very Italian, & Very Good."

DL&Hounds Tour Day 7, pt. 2 (or Day 8?)

Amazing what a few hours of sleep and some nice wallpaper can do. I woke up looking at this bird on my wall with "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" playing over and over in my head. It wasn't Brenda Lee's version I was hearing, but the rendition that we played last night for Spanish Television. We had a fine fine time singing and shaking some jingle bells while Dawn sang and Josh and I "Ooohh"d and "Ahhh"d. We did it just before we played our set at Clamores Club. My electronic fiasco during the show made it easy to forget the earlier high point, but now things are a bit more in balance. Know what else was great last night? The tapas meal we were served after the show. Water, wine, gazpacho, veggies and tortilla. Coffee, too, which Dawn decided this morning was not such a good idea so late at night.

...oh, Wow. Dawn just got a song sent to her from her friend Joan. A few years ago, Dawn wrote a song about Joan, singing about how she wanted to be Joan. Joan's brother created a techno-trash-electro-crash song called, "Don't Envy Me Dawn". Hard to dance to, but it's distorted nastiness mixes naturally with the X-mas tree rocking in my head. Oh wait....is this a hangover I'm starting to feel?

Off to have breakfast and then play a radio station before driving to tonight's show in Castellon.

DL&Hounds Tour Day 7

Okay, seriously? You want the truth about tour? Can you handle the truth? I woke up today in Madrid having dreamed about Louisville being visited by a foreign and beguiling brown fruit that grew from every plant in the city. These dreams were interrupted by the muscles in my lower back freaking out because the bed was so hard. A bed like the one I slept in should be a beautiful thing, with powers to will a spine into proper alignment, but my twisted muscles were having none of it. I woke up at least 5 times in pain and tried to roll into a position of comfort. What could have wrecked my body so, you ask? Packing and transporting my equipment from New York to tour.

Then, tonight I plugged my equipment into the power strips at Clamores Club in Madrid and half of the electronic trash I broke my back to bring over here fuzzed out. I didn't even get the satisfaction of electric fireworks or the smell of melted circuitry. Nothing. Kaput. During our set, I tried in vain to plug my mic and sampler in and out of the remaining working components to approximate the music I have been making. Vain vain. It was all in vain.

For years I put off exploring electronics in my performance because i didn't want to suffer from being dependent on them if ever they turned on me. Tonight was the incarnation of the worst case imaginable.

Everyone else on stage and in the room were genuinely pleased with the show, and while this should have made me feel better, it only added insult to injury ...do the things I do even matter? What the hell am I doing?

But this is where the story takes a turn.... I'm in Spain. I don't know anybody, and it's not necessary with Dawn and Josh to put on like I'm pleased when I'm not. I can sulk all up and down this city and no one will give a fuck. These are passionate people, after all. They can appreciate a sulking douchebag like me.

So I sulk. And a little sulking relaxes me. I go to the bar for a Jameson on the rocks and don't care when the bartender charges me most of my per diem. I can't remember the last time I said out loud to no one "I need a fucking drink goddammit!". In a few sips, things start to turn around.

So there's a little slice of tour: the occasional opportunity to do and feel your absolute worst, but with a cool shirt on, no one will notice. In fact, chances are good that while you're in a miserable sulking state, you might radiate some kind of broken honesty that will make you glow in someone's eyes. (I had great conversations while I sulked!)

...and my shirt, by the way, is by far one of the coolest shirts in Madrid. It was my Dad's and it says, "Very Modern, Very italian, & Very Good". It was THE coolest shirt in the city until Josh turned his "Fun Is First" shirt inside out.

DL&Hounds Tour Day 6

Dawn lost her wedding ring in Brooklyn and Josh found it by the toilet at Ronnie's in Birmingham. Josh found a book he was reading on last tour just before starting this run, and picked up where he left off. Josh watched Madonna's Truth Or Dare last night in Madrid. In it, there's a scene where Madonna is on tour in Madrid and has dinner with Amaldovar and Antonio Banderas. Josh is mixing his new Rocketship Park record while traveling in a van playing rock shows. Josh can sniff out the great places to eat in a town or city you've never been to. Josh has superpowers.